Britain Grants Refugee Status to Ex-President of Maldives

The former president of the Maldives, Mohamed Nasheed, in January. He was in Britain for medical leave from a 13-year prison sentence.CreditCreditBen Stansall/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

By Nida Najar

May 24, 2016

NEW DELHI — The former president of the Maldives has been granted refugee status in Britain, his office said in a statement late Monday, months after he entered the country on medical leave from a 13-year prison sentence on terrorism charges.

The former president, Mohamed Nasheed, the country’s first democratically elected head of state, was jailed for ordering the military to arrest a sitting senior judge, which the court said was an abduction punishable under a section of an antiterrorism law. Mr. Nasheed’s supporters denounced the action as politically motivated, imposed by a government loyal to the longtime leader he had replaced, Maumoon Abdul Gayoom.

Mr. Nasheed and his supporters have been joined by a chorus of countries that have objected to his imprisonment, including Canada, India and the United States. His trial was described as deeply unfair by the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, and human rights lawyers, including Amal Clooney, have lobbied for his release.

The Maldives, an archipelago in the Indian Ocean with nearly 400,000 people, has experienced continued turmoil in the months since Mr. Nasheed’s sentencing. The government has ousted or arrested officials whose loyalty to the current president, Abdulla Yameen, Mr. Gayoom’s half brother, has been questioned, and it has cracked down on protest rallies.

“President Yameen has jailed every opposition leader and cracked down on anyone who dares to oppose or criticize him,” Mr. Nasheed said in his office’s statement. “Given the slide towards authoritarianism in the Maldives, myself and other opposition politicians feel we have no choice but to work from exile — for now.”

The British Home Office said in a statement that it did not comment on individual political refugee cases.

The Maldives Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement on Monday that it was “concerned” about the reports of Mr. Nasheed’s refugee status in Britain, though it said that those reports were unconfirmed. It said that Mr. Nasheed had sought medical leave to “avoid serving his prison sentence,” adding that he “has once again exhibited a distinct lack of commitment to the legal process and continues to manipulate the process for political gain, believing that he remains above the law.”

The ministry added, “Further, the government of the Maldives is disappointed, if confirmed, that the U.K. government is allowing itself to be part of this charade, and further, is enabling an individual to circumvent his obligations under the law.”

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A version of this article appears in print on , on Page A8 of the New York edition with the headline: Britain Grants Refugee Status to Ex-President of the Maldives. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe